A Trip to the Dentist
by Rescue45
Summary: "It's crazy." "Hutch, you're my best friend, I promise I'll believe you." "I saw that man at the dentist's office the other day. His name is Burkhart." "What do you mean you saw him?"


A Trip to the Dentist

"You know, Starsk, it wouldn't hurt to go to one once in a while," Hutch said as he put his gun and holster in the glove box and closed the car door.

Starsky slid out of the driver's seat and closed his door, "Yeah, well I went just last year. Did you lock the door?"

"Yes, I locked the door. The last time you went was over two years ago not last year." Hutch turned his back and started to walk up the few steps to the building.

Starsky ran around the car to catch up with his long-legged partner. "Hey, it's not me who has to get a tooth pulled, so don't go lecturing me," Starsky said smugly as he opened the door. He bowed and waved his arm in a sweeping motion in from of him for Hutch to enter. As Hutch walked past him, he asked, "Hutch, why you going here anyway? What's wrong with your regular dentist?"

"The tooth broke off at the roots, I need an oral surgeon. That's why I brought you, remember? I can't drive home. He's going to use the gas and give me some pain killers. I can't drive after all that." Hutch said as he walked past Starsky into the office.

"Oh," Starsky mumbled as he followed Hutch inside.

Hutch walked up to the receptionist's window. She was a pretty woman with olive blemish-free skin, dark brown long hair, and a smile that had Hutch instantly wrapped around her fingers. He fumbled as he took the pen and signed in. "I…I'm, uh, Ken Hutchinson," he said as he handed her the clipboard through a hole in the window. He often felt nervous when talking to pretty, young women.

"Yes, I can see that," she said smiling as she handed him another clipboard. "Since you've never been here, please fill this out and the doctor will see you as soon as he's finished."

Hutch gently rubbed her hand as he took the clipboard, "My pleasure." He turned around and literally bumped into Starsky. He frowned at his smirking partner. Hutch found a seat and started filling out the questionnaire. He was about half way finished when he realized that Starsky wasn't sitting next to him. He looked up and saw Starsky at the receptionist's window with his legs crossed, one elbow leaning on the small counter and he was resting his chin on his opened hand. Hutch couldn't hear what his partner was saying but he did notice the receptionist laughing at whatever it was he was saying to her. He frowned again and finished answering the questions.

Starsky was still chatting with the receptionist when Hutch walked up to the window. He used his hips and nudged Starsky out of the way, almost knocking him over. Starsky took a stumbling step sideways and scowled at Hutch who grinned.

Hutch handed the clipboard to the receptionist and allowed his hand to brush against hers again. He smiled and said, "Here you go."

She smiled sweetly back as she took the clipboard, "Thank you. I believe he's almost ready now."

"Thank you," he said as he turned half way around and pointed to the chair he had been sitting in, "I'll be right over there." She nodded. Before Starsky had a chance to get back into his position at the window, Hutch tugged at his shirt sleeve and forced him to follow him.

Starsky sat next to Hutch, picked up a magazine that was lying on the table and said, "You're mean, you know that? I was talkin' to her. I was going to make…"

"Starsk, you were not going to make a date with her."

Starsky opened the magazine to some random page in the middle, glanced over his shoulder at the window, "Yeah, how do you know? I'm more her type than you are."

Hutch lifted his hand up and started to point his finger but Starsky pushed it away, "Because, dear partner, she's married."

"Married?" Starsky set the magazine in his lap, "How do you know that? She wasn't wearing a ring? I notice things like that, ya know?"

"Didn't you see the family pictures on her desk?"

Starsky looked at the window again and sheepishly smiled. He turned back to face Hutch, "Really?"

Hutch raised his eyebrows. Just then the door opened and the receptionists called him to the back. She held the door open for him. He smiled as he walked by her and said, "Thanks."

As soon as the door shut behind them, Starsky jumped out of his seat and went to the window. He leaned his head against the glass and stood on his tippy-toes and looked at her desk. "There's no family pictures," he mumbled. He walked back to his seat and picked up the magazine. "Hutch, I repeat, you're mean," Starsky mumbled. He turned his attention back to the magazine.

Hutch walked past a room and being the good detective he was, noticed the rather large-framed, dark-haired, man sitting in the chair had a tattoo on his forearm. The tattoo was round and had the sun in half of the circle and the moon in the middle. On the sun's side, the circle had what looked like flames around the edges. The man appeared to be asleep. Hutch was hoping he would be totally knocked out like that when his tooth was removed. He remembered how much he hated going to dentists.

The receptionist smiled again and said, "He'll be right in. I hope you're not in too much pain."

"No…no, it's not too bad," Hutch replied as he sat in the dentist chair. The truth was; it did hurt. It had been keeping him up for the past two nights. He was looking forward to getting the rest of the tooth extracted. She put the bib-looking paper across his chest and clipped it in place. She moved the big light down close to his face but didn't turn it on. She left the room and he took a deep breath. He thought back to the fight that caused him to be in this predicament.

Starsky had taken off down an alley chasing Mike Harmon, otherwise known as Runner because well…he likes to run, while he was busy wrestling with Runner's accomplice, Jake Morrison. Hutch cringed as he remembered his face being slammed into the brick wall. He almost passed out and probably would have if he hadn't been so worried about Starsky. Runner was known to carry guns and knives and wasn't afraid to use either of them, even on a cop. Hutch ignored the pain coming from his jaw and connected with Jake's stomach so hard he doubled over. He then quickly handcuffed Jake to a nearby fence and spit the blood out of his mouth on the ground before going after his partner. He found Starsky a block away, unharmed. He had Runner handcuffed and was walking him back to the alley. Hutch wondered why Starsky seemed to do better when it came to fights. Runner and Jake were known drug dealers that Starsky and Hutch had wanted to bust for a while. This was their big chance; they had them with enough evidence to lock them up for a long time and were hoping to get them to turn on their boss for a lesser sentence. Hutch's thoughts were interrupted when the dentist entered the room followed by the receptionist.

"Hi, I'm Doctor Lee Anderson, and this is my assistant Regina Turner. I have looked at your x-rays and, as we discussed on the phone, that tooth needs to come out."

Hutch nodded, "I agree." He looked at the receptionist, "I thought you were the receptionist."

"I'm pulling double duty for a couple of weeks, Sarah, the receptionist, is on vacation."

"Lucky me," Hutch grinned.

"Lucky, Sarah. She went to Hawaii with some friends."

The doctor put on some gloves and turned the big light on. Hutch closed his eyes as his mouth was examined. "The rest of your teeth look like they are in pretty good shape. I don't see any reason to delay the removal. Do you have anyone who can drive you home?"

"My partner, Starsky, will drive me," Hutch said as Regina put the water pick in his mouth and pulled a tray closer. The silver tray had all the tools that the doctor would use. Hutch didn't really want to see them but his curiosity got the better of him and he couldn't help but take a quick glance. He swallowed hard when he saw the tray of sharp instruments and a couple of needles.

"Your partner?" Regina asked.

"We're detectives."

"I see," she replied.

"Mr. Hutchinson, as I told you on the phone, I'm going to be using what we call laughing gas. You won't feel a thing," Doctor Anderson said. He put a paper mask on his face and the small mask over Hutch's nose that would be delivering the gas. Hut wanted to get this over with so he took a few deep breaths through his nose.

Hutch heard someone loudly say, "I told you to close that damn door! He saw him! Now I have to take care of him too." Hutch struggled to open his eyes but they weren't cooperating. He heard another voice, a much softer woman's voice say, "He won't remember anything. Please, don't hurt him. You know he's a cop and his partner is in the waiting room. You'll never get away with it and the whole operation…"

"Yeah, okay. But you'd better hope he doesn't remember anything. I want you to call the boss, have him send someone to remove Mr. Burkhart." The other voice said. Hutch couldn't quite make out whose voices he heard.

Hutch felt some pressure in his jaw and then he felt the mask being removed. He blinked his eyes a couple of times and Doctor Anderson said, "There now, that wasn't too bad now, was it?"

Hutch rubbed his right jaw and shook his head, "No. I bibn't peel anyfing." He laughed at how his words were coming out. "I hate biss bart. Mouf nub."

Regina smiled and removed the paper bib, "That's quite normal. You'll be numb for a couple of hours."

Doctor Anderson put a piece of gauze in Hutch's mouth where the tooth was extracted and told him to hold pressure on it for about twenty minutes. He went over the post-extraction instructions and handed him a piece of paper with them written down. He also handed Hutch two prescriptions. One was for an antibiotic and the other was for pain medication. He told Hutch to take the pain medication for at least two days even if he wasn't hurting. Hutch said, "Fank you." Doctor Anderson smiled at him and assisted him out of the chair.

Regina walked with Hutch to the waiting room. Starsky had finished the magazine and was reading the newspaper when the door opened. He put the paper down and stood up. He didn't like the look Hutch had on his face. He looked like he was in pain. "Is he okay?" He asked Regina, forgetting that not long ago he was mad at Hutch.

"He'll be fine. He's going to be a little sore for a couple of days."

Hutch handed Starsky the instructions he'd been given and said, "I'll be pine. Pets go bone."

Starsky laughed, "You'll be fine and let's go home. Is that what you're trying to say, Buddy?" Hutch nodded. "Okay," Starsky looked at Regina, "Thank you." Starsky gently took hold of Hutch's arm and guided him to the car. He unlocked the door and helped Hutch inside. Hutch put his head on the headrest and closed his eyes.

Starsky helped Hutch get settled into bed and said, "I'll get those prescriptions filled and be back in a few minutes, you gonna be okay while I'm gone?" Not wanting to talk, Hutch nodded. Starsky patted Hutch's arm and said, "I'll be right back, twenty minutes tops."

Starsky was reading a file when Hutch walked into the station a couple of days later. "Is that our next case?" He asked as he sat in his chair across from Starsky.

"Yeah," Starsky looked up at his partner. "You ready to come back? I thought you were still on the pain killers."

"I quit taking the pain pills yesterday and feel pretty good, so yeah, I'm ready. What do you have?"

Starsky showed Hutch a photograph, "He washed up on the shore this morning. No ID yet. I was just about to visit the coroner."

Hutch picked up the photograph and stared at it. Something seemed familiar about the large man but he couldn't place where he had seen him before. Starsky noticed the look on his partner's face, "Something wrong?" Hutch didn't respond. Starsky stood up and leaned toward Hutch, "Hey, Blondie," Starsky said.

Hutch shook his head and looked up, "What?"

"I said, let's go."

"Yeah, okay," Hutch said as he put the picture back in the folder.

The coroner opened the drawer that contained the body. He removed the cover and Hutch stared at the man. Starsky noticed the daze Hutch seemed to be in and told the coroner they had seen enough. The coroner covered the body back up and slid it back into the drawer. Hutch's gaze was concentrated on the drawer after the coroner left. "What is it, Hutch?" Starsky asked. Hutch shook his head and walked away without saying anything. Starsky followed Hutch outside and down the stairs to his car. Hutch opened the door and got inside. He sat in the car with the door open and stared at the building they just left. "Hey, are you okay, Buddy?" Starsky asked. He was standing next to Hutch.

Hutch blinked a couple of times and said, "I'm fine, Starsk."

"Then what's buggin' ya?"

Hutch swallowed the lump in his throat and looked up at Starsky. He squinted because the sun was in his eyes. "Starsk, you're not gonna believe me. I'm not sure I believe…no, it can't be."

"Hutch, what is it?"

Hutch got back out of the car and said, "Just follow me and don't say anything, okay?" Starsky threw his hands up in the air as Hutch walked back into the building.

The coroner removed the cover again and Hutch squatted down on the man's left side and looked at his forearm. He didn't see anything and he quickly went to the right side and saw a tattoo. He covered the man up himself and walked back to the car. Starsky thanked the coroner again then ran after Hutch. He found Hutch pacing on the sidewalk by his car. Starsky grabbed Hutch's shoulders and said, "Hutch, talk to me, Partner. What's going on in that head of yours?"

"It's crazy."

"Hutch, you're my best friend, I promise I'll believe you."

"I saw that man at the dentist's office the other day. His name is Burkhart."

"What do you mean you saw him?"

Hutch sat on the hood of the car and said, "It's coming back to me like a bad dream. I saw that man," he pointed at the building, "sitting in the dentist's chair. I remember hearing someone say something about me seeing him. And then the voice said they had to take care of me. Then another voice said they'd never get away with it and it would blow their whole operation. There was something about calling someone to remove Mr. Burkhart."

Starsky could see that Hutch desperately wanted and needed him to believe him. He patted Hutch's arm, "It's okay, Hutch. We'll get to the bottom of it. What else do you remember? I saw you looking at the tattoo on his arm."

Hutch was relieved that Starsky believed him he smiled and said 'thanks' with his eyes. "That's how I remembered him. I saw that tattoo. Did you see it? There can't be that many of them around."

"Where do you want to start?"

"Let's start with the tattoo parlors. If we start with the good Doctor Anderson, we might arouse his suspicion. Right now he thinks he got away with murder; let's let him believe that for a while."

"What about Captain Dobey?"

"What about him?"

"Shouldn't we tell him?"

"We'll tell him later. He won't believe me anyway until I get more proof." Hutch stood up and got inside the car.

"Until _we _get more proof, Partner," Starsky said as he walked around to the driver's side.

Starsky pulled up to tattoo parlor. It was a small building with 'Say it in Ink' painted on the window. Starsky opened the door for Hutch and followed him inside. There was a skinny man with long brown hair putting a photograph in a book. He looked up when the bell rang announcing their presence. "Starsky, Hutch I didn't know she was underage, I swear it," he said as he held his hands up.

"Relax, Inky, we just want to ask you about a tat Hutch saw."

The man relaxed and put his hands down. "Yeah?"

"Yeah," Hutch replied. Hutch picked up a pencil and a piece of paper and drew a picture of the tattoo the Burkhart had.

As soon as he drew the edges of the sun Inky said, "I recognize that one."

"You do?" Starsky said, surprised.

"Yeah," Inky replied. He looked in the book that contained the pictures of tattoos. "It's here someplace." He flipped through a couple more pages and turned the book around, "Is this it?"

"Sure is. Is it one of yours?" Hutch asked. Inky looked at Hutch then he moved his eyes toward Starsky. "Inky, did you do this? Look, you're not in trouble. We're just trying to ID the guy."

"You mean he's…"

Starsky nodded, "Washed up this morning. Inky, what's his name?"

"He said his name was Burkhart."

"What about a first name?" Hutch asked.

"Jason…no, it was Jackson. Jackson Burkhart. He drew the picture himself. Took two sittings to finish it."

"It's small, why did it take two sitting?" Starsky asked.

"Someone came in and he said he had to go. He came back two days later. That was about a month ago."

"Okay, thanks, Inky," Starsky said.

"Anything for you two. Hey, do you want to keep this?" He took the picture out of the book and handed it to Hutch.

"Thanks. And uh, make sure you don't put anymore of your art work on underage girls or we'll be back," Hutch added.

"Yeah, okay."

Hutch looked at the sky and sighed as he had his hand on the car door. Starsky placed his hand on Hutch's shoulder, "I knew you weren't crazy, Pal."

"For a minute there, I thought I was."

"What else so you remember? Did you recognize any voices?"

Hutch thought a minute and shook his head, "Let's go see the Bear and see if he knows anything."

"You got it."

Huggy handed the picture back to Hutch, "Never saw it before sorry, guys. But the name Burkhart does ring a bell. You said his first name is Jackson?" Starsky and Hutch both nodded. Huggy light bit his lip and said, "Burkhart. Now I remember, he's one of Marsolenni's men."

"Marsolenni?" Hutch asked.

"Yeah, he peddles his junk on the south side. Word is, he started sampling the goods. Say you two gents want a couple of specials."

"Sure, why not?" Starsky said. Hutch started to protest but he realized that it was lunch time and skipped breakfast and nodded.

Huggy set their lunch on the table then sat next to Starsky in the booth. "Marsolenni. Man, you guys have been after him for years."

"Only we never could get enough on him to put him away," Starsky said as he reached for the burger.

Hutch picked up a French fry and said, "Maybe now we have enough to put him away for a long time."

"Who was it that tried to take over his area last year? You know when those Lieutenants Stratton and Martin were killed. The two of you had to pretend to be on the outs and became lieutenants yourselves."

"That was Monroe. He killed Big John and tried to take over Marsolenni's turf."

"Yeah, Monroe that was him. And those two undercover cops from Florida…" Huggy took a sip of his beer.

"Farmer and Singleton…" Starsky said.

"Couple of great guys, I might add," Hutch said. Starsky nodded.

They finished their lunch and after Starsky finished the last bit of his tea he asked, "Hutch, what do you wanna do now?"

"Guess we'd better fill Dobey in."

"And you didn't come to me first, why?!" Captain Dobey's voice was so loud that Starsky stuck his finger in his ear and rubbed it.

"Because, Hutch didn't think…"

"Of course Hutch didn't think and neither did you. You two never think. You just go off on your own. You're gonna end up dead one day, you know that?"

"Probably," Starsky mumbled so low the captain didn't hear him.

"What was that, Starsky?"

"Nothing."

Captain Dobey lowered his voice and spoke as a friend instead of an angry captain. He took out his handkerchief out of his front shirt pocket and wiped his face off. "Look, Fellas, I just don't want to…I just want to know what you're up to. Hutch, if you say you saw the dead man in the dentist's office then you saw him."

"Thank you, Captain."

Captain Dobey wadded up the handkerchief and stuffed it back in his pocket he stared at his two lead detectives a moment then asked, "What's your next move?"

"I think it's time to visit good ole Doctor Anderson," Hutch said. He stood up and walked toward the door with Starsky on his heels.

Captain Dobey leaned forward in his chair, "Keep me posted," he said as Starsky was about to close the door.

"You know us," Hutch said.

"That's what I'm talkin' about, Hutchinson," he responded with a gruff voice. He leaned back in his chair and took out the bottle of Tylenol that had become a permanent fixture in his drawer.

Hutch and Starsky walked into the oral surgeon's office and saw Regina sitting behind the receptionist's window. "Hi, Ms. Turner," Hutch said. This time Hutch was there as a detective and he was there on business, all the nervousness he felt about talking to her was long gone. He was much more self-assured and in his element this time. The surprised look she tried to hide did not go unnoticed by either detective. "I'd…or rather we'd like to speak to Doctor Anderson," Hutch said as he took out his badge. "Police business."

Her hands were shaking as she pushed a button on the phone and said, "Doctor Anderson, the police detectives Starsky and Hutchinson are here to see you."

"I just have a couple of quick questions for him," Hutch said.

She hung the phone up and said, "I'll take you to his office."

The door to the back was opened and she escorted Starsky and Hutch to his office. "He's with a patient and will be here in a minute."

Hutch nodded and sat in one of the black leather chairs. Starsky slowly walked around the office and looked at the books on the shelf. He pulled one down and looked through it. "Hutch," he whispered.

"What," Hutch whispered back.

"Look at this, will ya?" Starsky showed Hutch a page in the book. "Listen to this, the first and most enduring explanation for what causes tooth decay was the tooth worm." Hutch rolled his eyes, "Really it says it was noted by the Samarians…"

"Starsk, that's Sumerians and it was about 5000 _BC._"

"You knew about the tooth worm?" Hutch raised his eyebrows at his partner. Starsky could have sworn he saw Hutch smirk too. "It says it's logical because the holes created by cavities are like the ones the worms bore into wood. Look, there's a picture of an ivory sculpture showing it." Hutch sighed. "Come on, Hutch look." Starsky spied a mirror on the wall, tossed Hutch the book and opened his mouth and looked at his teeth in his reflection.

"Starsky, cavities are not caused by some worm in your teeth."

Starsky closed his mouth and turned around, "How do you know? You don't know everything? What if I have a worm in there?" He asked pointing at a tooth.

"Then the one in your head will have company," Hutch chuckled. Starsky frowned.

Hutch started pacing in the small office. "What is it, Hutch?"

"I don't like it, Starsk. I remember whose voice I heard, it _was_ his. I'm sure it was Anderson's," Hutch whispered. He added, "The other voice was a woman's and I'm pretty sure it was your girlfriend's." Hutch stood up and put the book back on the shelf.

Starsky reached his hand inside his jacket and felt his gun. Somehow, feeling the cold steel in his hands made him feel safe and secure. Hutch put his hand on his gun too. The door suddenly opened and before they knew it, Starsky and Hutch had guns pointed at them. One of the men was about three inches taller than Hutch and about twenty pounds heavier. He had black, greasy hair. Starsky didn't notice any scars or tattoos. The shorter man was about five feet seven inches tall and had dirty blonde hair. He was missing a tooth on the top row, right in the middle. "Don't even think about it, Detective Starsky," the taller of the two men said.

Starsky and Hutch put their hands in the air. Starsky looked at Hutch and said, "I guess we walked into this one, huh?"  
"Looks like it, Buddy." Hutch put his hands down. "What now?" Starsky followed Hutch's lead and put his hands at his sides.

"You reach in his jacket and get his weapon," the shorter man said to Starsky. Starsky sighed and looked at Hutch. "Don't try anything stupid or Hutchinson gets it."

"Yeah, okay," Starsky replied. He pondered for a minute if he should try something but he knew the man wouldn't hesitate to shoot him or Hutch. He slowly pulled Hutch's gun from its holster and tossed it on the floor.

Hutch reached in Starsky's jacket and put Starsky's gun on the floor next to his own. "What now, Spiegel?"

"Cole Spiegel? Oh, I remember you. Say when did you get out of jail? I thought you were doing something like fifteen to twenty," Starsky said. He turned to the other man and said, "Jose Martinez, is Marsolenni pulling your strings now? I thought you worked for Gomez. You know if you boys would quit changing the players, Hutch and I would have an easier time keeping up."

Cole Spiegel still had his gun pointed at Starsky and Hutch and said, "I'll tell you what, just for old time's sake I'm going to let you make a choice."

"Oh, goody. I like choices. Don't you like choices, Hutch?" Starsky said in an upbeat voice with a hint of sarcasm.

"Depends on the choice, Starsk."

"I can either put you two to sleep by using the gas or I can," Spiegel took a syringe out of his pocket and squirted some of the liquid out.

Starsky and Hutch looked at each other then back at Spiegel and said, "Gas," simultaneously.

Starsky groaned as he slowly became aware that he had not yet been killed even though he felt like it. He felt the warmth of a body under his head. He also felt the rhythmic rise and fall of the chest. He struggled to move his hands but they were cuffed behind him. He finally managed to force his eyes open. Starsky grinned and said, "It was good for me, was it good for you?"

"Will you get off me, Starsk?" Hutch replied. He was lying on his back with his hands cuffed behind him.

"Is that what you say to all the girls? No wonder you can't keep any of them very long," Starsky smirked.

"Starsk, so help me, if you don't get off me…"

"I'm trying, Partner. My hands are cuffed. Just give me a minute." Starsky struggled and finally managed to roll off Hutch. He managed to get into a sitting position on the side of the bed.

Hutch squirmed and sat next to Starsky. "I hope you have my spare key."

"Of course I do. Don't leave home without it." Starsky and Hutch worked their cuffed hands down their legs and in front of them. At the same time, they each pulled a key out of their sock. Starsky used the key he had stuffed in his sock to uncuff Hutch and then Hutch uncuffed Starsky. They removed their cuffs and tucked them in their waistbands.

They went to the door and Hutch put his ear to it. He heard Marsolenni talking to Dr. Anderson. "I'm telling you to get rid of them. You shouldn't have brought them here in the first place. Starsky and Hutchinson have been after me for years. The last thing I need is for them to find out that I was involved in Burkhart's unfortunate demise."

Hutch could hear the anger in Marsolenni's voice. "He doesn't sound too happy, Starsk."

"No foolin'. Hutch, what are we gonna do, huh?"

Hutch looked around the room and saw the bed they had been laying on a few moments before and nothing else. No windows, no dressers there was nothing. "I don't know. You got any ideas?"

Starsky took in a deep breath, raised his eyebrows and said, "Fight."

"You mean you want to fight me?"

"It'll get them in here."

"And then what?"

"I don't know. We'll play it by ear."

Hutch huffed, "That's not a plan; that's suicide."

"The way I see it, he's gonna waste us anyway at least this way we may throw them off guard."

Hutch shrugged and yelled, "This is all your fault, Starsky!"

"My fault, how is it my fault? It was your stupid tooth."

"You're the one who told me to go to Anderson in the first place!"

Cole Spiegel opened the door and was followed by Jose Martinez and Marsolenni. Starsky and Hutch ignored the intruders. "It was your tooth, Hutch!"

"Which I lost because of you!"

"How come every time something bad happens, you wanna blame me?"

Cole and Jose were laughing at the partners as they argued. Starsky and Hutch moved closer to their captors and when they were close enough Starsky winked at Hutch and took a swing at Cole just as Hutch's right fist connected with Jose knocking him out. Cole came back and hit Starsky who stumbled a couple feet backwards and rebounded with a left cross that put Cole on the floor. Marsolenni pulled his gun out and fired a shot that hit Starsky in the leg. Starsky grabbed his leg and fell to the floor next to Jose and Cole. Hutch punched Marsolenni square in the jaw before he had the chance to fire another shot. Marsolenni's gun fell on the ground and he raced toward it. Starsky crawled to Jose and removed his gun and aimed it at Marsolenni, "Hold it right there, Marsolenni, or I will shoot." The weight of the gun was heavy and began to shake in Starsky's grip.

Marsolenni looked at Starsky then at Hutch. He raised his hands in the air and said, "No. Don't shoot. Please, don't hurt me."

Hutch bent down and picked up Marsolenni's gun and tucked it in his waistband. "No. We won't hurt you. We'll make sure you get a fair trial, unlike what you gave Mr. Burkhart and all those kids you strung out."

He then pulled out his cuffs and pushed Marsolenni on the floor. Hutch read Marsolenni his rights as he handcuffed him to the metal bed frame. "That ought to keep you out of trouble a little while."

Starsky dropped the gun and put his head down. "Stay with me, Buddy." Hutch said as he glanced at his partner. He saw a puddle of blood starting to form under Starsky's left leg. Hutch picked up Marsolenni's gun and searched Spiegel and Martinez until he found their guns. After he secured all the weapons in his waistband, he gently nudged Starsky, "Starsky, come on, don't quit on me now." He received no reply. He was relieved to see Starsky still breathing. He knew he had to do something with Spiegel and Martinez before he could help Starsky. Hutch dragged Spiegel and Martinez to the bed and used Starsky's cuffs to handcuff them to each other then to the bed frame next to Marsolenni.

Hutch grabbed Starsky under his arms and pulled him out of the room leaving behind a trail of blood. He locked the door with the deadbolt lock that had been placed on the outside. He went into the kitchen and found a dish towel and wrapped it tightly around Starsky's thigh. Hutch dialed the number to the station but got a recording telling him he needed to dial the area code. That was when he realized he didn't know where he was. He didn't even know what town he was in. He slowly hung up the phone. He didn't know how long he had been rendered unconscious. He looked at his watch and it was 0100. Hutch mumbled, "We've been out ten hours. We could be almost anywhere." He searched the nearby table and counter for any piece of mail that might tell them where he was. He went to the front door and didn't see any other houses. In fact, the only thing he did see was a dirt road and trees. He opened it and looked at the house numbers. "Great. So I know the numbers. That still doesn't tell me where the hell we are," He mumbled. He made his way back to the phone and called the emergency operator. He explained that he didn't know where he was but he needed an ambulance and the police. The operator said they were just outside Bay City in Mason. She tried to guess exactly where he was by what Hutch could see, but that was no help. The only thing she could do was transfer the call to the local police department and have them trace the call. Hutch was grateful the phone had a long cord. He was able to get to the sink, wet a cloth and sit on the floor next to Starsky. He put Starsky's head in his lap while he explained his predicament to the local police department. Hutch hung up after the call had been traced. He patted Starsky's forehead with the damp cloth. "Come on, Starsk, wake up for me. I got help coming."

By the time the call had been traced and anyone arrived on scene, thirty minutes had gone by. When the police came, they came in force. Hutch had told them he had three men in custody and with one of them being a well-known drug dealer, the police were not about to take any chances that he would get away.

Starsky had lost a lot of blood and was pale and unresponsive when he was loaded into the ambulance. The paramedic told Hutch the name of the hospital they were taking Starsky to. The ambulance quickly sped off with lights and sirens wailing.

After Starsky was on his way to the hospital, Hutch found the local police captain, James Brightwell, and asked him to take the three men into custody until he could arrange to have them transported to Bay City. Captain Brightwell said that he would take them to the department and hold them until Hutch could make it there.

"Thanks. Do you think someone can take me to the hospital?"

"Yes, Sir. I'll be happy to. My car's right there." A young officer standing close by said as he pointed to a black-and-white patrol car.

"That will fine," Captain Brightwell said.

"Thanks," Hutch replied. He stumbled to the patrol car and got in the passenger seat, leaned his head against the headrest and shut his eyes.

"It won't take us long to get to the hospital."

"How good is your hospital?" Hutch said without opening his eyes or moving his head.

"It's real good. Don't worry, your partner's in good hands."

"Thank you, officer...umm."

"It's Goodman. Bradley Goodman."

"I appreciate everything you and your department has done for me and Starsky."

"Not a problem. Us officers have to stick together. Say, I never got your name."

"It's Ken Hutchinson, but you can call me Hutch."

Hutch ran to the nurse's desk and asked about Starsky. "Who?" The nurse asked.

"Dave Starsky, my partner. He was shot in the left leg." Hutch asked.

"Oh. I'm sorry, we didn't have his name. Are you family?"

There was that question again. Hutch wondered why information could only be given to blood relatives. He was closer to Starsky than anyone, including his blood brother. "Yes. I'm his brother…" he glanced at her name tag and added, "Mrs. Baines."

"His brother. You just said you were his partner, so which is it?"

"Okay, I'm not his brother. I'm Starsky's partner. Please, tell me how he is," he pleaded.

Nurse Baines could see the desperation in Hutch eyes. She smiled sweetly at him and said, "They took him to surgery right away. Doctor Mayhew said your friend lost a lot of blood."

"I know that. I was there."

"He's probably going to have to have a transfusion." She saw Hutch lower his head then rub his forehead. "I'll take you someplace you can wait and rest, follow me." Hutch followed her to a quiet waiting room that had a couch and a couple of chairs in it. "You can lie down on the couch. I'll let know about your partner as soon as I can. There's a phone you can use, just dial nine to get an outside line. If you want to make a long distance call, just dial nine then four, five, six."

Hutch gave her a warm smile and said, "Thanks." He sat on the couch and picked up the pillow that was next to him. He placed the pillow on his lap.

Goodman said, "Hutch, I'm going to get us some coffee."

Hutch nodded. He prepared himself for another long wait. "Seems like I spend half my life waiting to hear if you're okay, Starsk." He grinned, "I guess you spend about that much waiting on me too." He huffed. "I need to call Dobey," he said to no one in particular. Hutch called Captain Dobey who had already received a call from Captain Brightwell. He let Hutch know that he had Ms. Turner and the good Doctor Andrews in custody already.

There was a knock on the door and it slowly opened. A doctor entered the room and Hutch stood up. "Uh, Captain, I gotta go; the doctor's here now. I'll call you back." Hutch hung up the phone and stood up. "How is he?"

"I take it you're the one they call Hutch." Hutch nodded. "You partner said you'd be worried. He's lost a lot of blood as you already know, but he's going to be fine. He'll need to stay here a few days but he'll be good as new before too long." The doctor smiled at Hutch. "He's awake and asking for you."

Hutch let out a sigh of relief, "Where is he?"

"Down the hall, take the elevators to the second floor. He's in room 212."

"Thanks, Doc."

Hutch opened the door to the dark room. He saw the shadowy figure of his partner lying in the bed. "Hi ya," Starsky moaned.

"How you feeling, Buddy?" Hutch stood over Starsky and gave him the old once over. Hutch looked at the IV bag and uncovered Starsky to reveal the large bandage on his left leg.

"The leg hurts but overall I'm not bad. Did you get 'em, Hutch? I'm sorry I passed out on you." Starsky's voice was weak and Hutch could tell his partner was still in some pain.

Hutch moved a chair closer to the bed and sat in it. He took Starsky's hand in his own and softly said, "No, I didn't get them, Partner. We did. You gave me just enough time. Spiegel and Martinez are now singing like a couple of song birds. Your lovely lady, Ms. Turner and Doctor Anderson are enjoying Captain Dobey's hospitality in Bay City."

"What about Marsolenni?"

"Marsolenni was so scared I'd shoot him, he wet himself," Hutch chuckled.

Starsky laughed and grabbed his leg, "Hutch, don't make me laugh, it hurts."

"Okay, Buddy. We got Marsolenni for hiring those clowns to kill Burkhart who was caught sampling too much of his own goods, kidnapping us and attempted murder of a police officer. So I'd say he's going to be out of our hair for a long time."

"Good riddance." Starsky cringed and his leg jerked.

Hutch covered him up and said, "Get some rest, I'll be back in a little while." Starsky was asleep before Hutch got the words out.

A couple of weeks later Starsky and Hutch walked into Captain Dobey's office and sat down. Starsky leaned his cane on the arm of the chair he and Hutch were sharing. "You wanted to see us, Captain," Hutch said.

Captain Dobey looked at his two officers as if what he was about to say would kill him, "You two did a good job."

"Thank you, Cap'n," Starsky said.

"Only the two of you could go to a dentist and end up arresting one of the city's most wanted felons. Our streets are a little safer now."

"Not really, Cap'n," Starsky said.

"What do you mean?"

"What my partner here is trying to say, Captain, is that no matter how many Marsolenni's we put away, there will always be another to take his place."

"It never ends," Starsky added. Captain Dobey nodded.

Somewhere in Bay City, a man wearing a dark blue suit sitting in an office picked up his phone, "I'm in control of Bay City now. Marsolenni was an idiot for getting caught. I'll be ready for the first shipment in a few days."


End file.
